Lobbying firm hails APPC's handling of complaint

The vice-chairman of lobbying firm Morgan Allen Moore has claimed he is ‘delighted' with the way the Association of Professional Political Consultants ­(APPC) is dealing with a complaint concerning the agency.

The APPC is looking into claims by a disgruntled former employee that agency chairman ­Steve Morgan breached the ­APPC's code of conduct while working on Peter Hain's Labour deputy leadership campaign (PRWeek, 24 January).

The APPC this week ann­ounced such activity ‘did not ­itself necessarily constitute a breach of the code' and agreed ‘to write to the complainant to ask for more specific information'.

Morgan Allen Moore's vice-chairman and director Richard Moore said he was ­‘delighted'.

‘The APPC has gone back to the complainant and told him to put up or shut up,' he added.

He claimed the complaint amounted to ‘a fishing expedition, trawling the media to create a problem'. Moore said of the complainant: ‘He also worked with Conservative central office - he is a Tory out to make mischief.'